Well good news for the lads in Spain who are tired of climbing. Saturday\u2019s Stage 8 is far less lumpy and should give the sprinters a shot (one of the few) at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n
Stage 8 runs 171 km from Pu\u00e7ol to Xeraco, south of Valencia. And there\u2019s just 1,281 metres of elevation gain\u2013a lot less than previous days. On paper, it is one of the easier (if you think cruising along at 45-50km\/h, easy) days of the race. The route is fairly uncomplicated for much of the stage before the biggest obstacle arrives with just over 50 km remaining.<\/p>\n
The climb, though<\/p>\n
The Puerto de Barx is 8.6 km long at an average of 3.8 per cent, although the opening 4.7 km averages a much more significant 5.6 per cent. That could be enough to put some of the pure sprinters under pressure, particularly if teams decide to make the climb hard.<\/p>\n
There is still plenty of road left after that little dinger, though. The riders descend towards Gandia before tackling a largely flat run to Xeraco, with a straightforward final section that should give the sprint teams time to regroup. So if any of the fastmen get popped\u2013and remember, there are fewer proper bunch sprinters than usual at this year\u2019s Grand Tour. Most of them opted for the Renewi Tour. Why? There are simply fewer proper bunch-sprint stages than usual at this year\u2019s Vuelta.<\/p>\n
Brennan, van Aert, or Pedersen?<\/p>\n
Matthew Brennan has been the rider to beat in the Vuelta\u2019s previous bunch finishes, taking two stage wins already. The 20-year-old Briton has shown he can handle more than a completely flat route, making him the obvious favourite if the main sprinters survive Barx.<\/p>\n
Wout van Aert could also have a big say. He leads the points classification by just two points over Tadej Poga\u010dar. So Visma may want to help him go for the dub. If the bunch doesn\u2019t reassemble toward the end, look to the Belgian or Lidl-Trek\u2019s Mads Pedersen.<\/p>\n
You can catch the action on Flobikes.com<\/a> at 8:50 a.m. EDT. And be sure to check back on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a report, too. Don\u2019t forget, the MTB worlds are running all weekend, also on Flo<\/a>, and the reborn Philadelphia Classic is tomorrow. You can watch both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s races for free on its YouTube Channel<\/a>. So much bikin\u2019!<\/p>\n
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